Labor of Love
by Tairi Soraryu
Summary: The well was nearly destroyed, Kagome temporarily trapped in her own time. Now she's back, Inuyasha's healed, the gang is ready to pursue Naraku again. But what's Inuyasha up to this time? Set post Rouyakan, books 7-8. Rating K for Inuyasha's potty mouth


**Author's Note: **First new fic in a long time! Set after the events of Books 7-8, when Inuyasha sends Kagome back through the well and attempts to destroy it so she can't come back. Just a silly story to explain how the well gets fixed...

**Labor of Love

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**

"Kaede-baachan, have you seen Inuyasha?"

The old priestess looked up from the herbs she held in her wrinkled hands. On the floor around her, plants tied in neat bundles lay ready for drying. "Not since this morning," she replied gravely. "Is he not with the monk?"

Kagome shook her head, the niggling seed of worry rooting more firmly in her gut. She had just come from where Miroku was assisting the villagers repair the damage Rouyakan had wrecked in his rampage two days prior. They hadn't seen Inuyasha all day.

Leaving Kaede's hut, Kagome stood on the dusty main path of the village, frowning. She'd checked all the logical places, and no sign of the wayward half-demon. More than irritation was a lingering anxiety. Inuyasha brushed off any hint of unwanted concern, but his wounds were serious. Demon healing powers or no, Inuyasha needed tending. Kagome was prepared to see to it he got that tending.

Whether he wanted it or not.

"Kagome!"

The blur of fur bounced into her arms. Kagome hugged Shippou affectionately. She was truly fond of the little fox demon, though he did tend to be sulky, as he was now. "What's the matter?"

Shippou pouted. "That mean Inuyasha! Kicking me out like that. I just wanted to see what he's doing to the well!"

"The well?" Fear shot through Kagome. She stared in the direction of the well hidden deep in the nearby forest. Inuyasha couldn't be trying to destroy it again…could he?

"You better go see what he's up to," Shippou said. "I'll come with you!"

"No, you should stay." Kagome knelt and set Shippou on the ground. She smiled and patted his head to soothe his temper. "I can handle Inuyasha. Besides, he might try to kick you again."

Shippou subsided at that. Kagome hurried into the woods, heart thudding. In reality, she wanted to face Inuyasha alone. She was a little afraid of what she'd find. After Inuyasha had shoved her through to her time in a misguided attempt to protect her from the dangers of his world, he had nearly demolished the well. It was barely usable now, and the last thing Kagome needed was to get stuck in the Sengoku Era!

She heard the sound of hammering punctuated by frequent bursts of cursing as only Inuyasha could curse. Kagome was nearly at an all-out run as she rounded the bend in the path, calling out. "Inuyasha? What are you up to?"

"Don't look!"

Something heavy and red hit Kagome in the face. It was Inuyasha's red outer wear, the fire rat coat he habitually wore. Kagome fought to pull the cumbersome folds out of her eyes. "What's the matter with you?" she demanded, clawing at the endless yards of fabric. "What are you doing?"

Inuyasha's arms came around her suddenly, trapping her with the coat over her head. "I said, don't look," he growled.

"Inuyasha, let me go." Kagome squirmed, trying to free herself from his grasp. He merely squeezed her tighter. Scowling into the blinding folds of his coat, Kagome snapped, "Don't make me say the word."

Inuyasha flinched reflexively but kept his hold on her. "I'd crush you, too, so don't try it." Hah! He thought smugly. She thought she was so clever, but he had her there.

Kagome fought unsuccessfully against his arms. Panting, she gave up trying to force him to release her. An idea hit her, and she made herself go limp in his arms. "I'm…I'm feeling faint." She let her voice tremble weakly. "I can't breathe…" She slumped in his arms.

"Kagome?" Fear lurched in his gut, and Inuyasha immediately loosened his arms. He whipped the coat off, easing Kagome onto the ground. "Kagome! Hold on!" Her eyes were shut, her lips half-parted. Was she breathing? He tried to check, but his fingers shook too much to tell.

"Holding." Kagome opened her eyes and took his hand in hers. She smiled teasingly up at him. "Gotcha."

"Dammit, Kagome!" Inuyasha shook her hand away angrily and lurched to his feet. He glared down at her, embarrassment and relief a messy knot in his gut. "You—I thought—dammit!" He kicked bad-temperedly at a dirt clod by his feet, stomping away from her.

Amusement turned quickly to chagrin at Inuyasha's reaction. Kagome hurriedly got to her feet. "Inuyasha, I'm sorry. I was just playing with you. I didn't mean to actually make you worry." He stayed where he was, back to her, and Kagome reached out to touch his shoulder. "You didn't actually hurt me."

Inuyasha whirled before she touched him. His eyes, molten gold, were full of recriminations. "You, what, just wanted to make me think I was?"

Kagome winced. That had been her intention, but not the way Inuyasha meant. Put so plainly, she felt like a bigger monster than Naraku. "No. Inuyasha, I just wanted to see what you were doing."

"And I told you I didn't want—Forget it!" Inuyasha stormed off down the path towards the village.

Kagome hurried after him, stooping to pick up his discarded coat. As she straightened, she glanced around the clearing. Her gaze fell on the well, and her breath nearly stopped in her throat.

A new well box stood, half-completed, where the ruined one had been. Tools were scattered in the grass, and a stack of raw planks lay piled nearby. The design was crude, but functional.

And Inuyasha's intentions were clear as day.

Dropping the fire rat coat, Kagome ran after Inuyasha. Tears blurred her vision. She saw him, still stomping hard enough to raise dust, at the end of the path.

"Inuyasha, wait!" Kagome lunged and caught his arm. She pulled him back into the sheltering fringe of trees, out of sight of anyone in the village looking in their direction. "Wait."

Inuyasha glared at her, fighting the hurt that panged his heart. She'd _played_ him, just as he'd been tricked and lied to and used before. Not even the sight of her tears stirred any pity in him. "What?"

_What, indeed?_ Kagome cleared her throat, casting for something to say. "Uhm…Were you fixing the well for me?"

"Keh." Inuyasha shook her hand off impatiently and stared hard into the surrounding woods. Embarrassment of a different sort made him want to shuffle his feet. "I wasn't…I thought…Shut up."

His grumpy denial had Kagome's cheeks pinking. _He's so sweet,_ she thought. It was obvious what he'd been doing, and his embarrassment at being caught in the act only made it sweeter. "Why didn't you want me to see?"

" 'Cuz it was supposed to be a surprise!" Inuyasha exploded, arms waving. "And I didn't want you to make a big fat fuss over it, or say how 'nice' I was or anything." His expression turned dark. "Not like you'd say that now. Would you just leave me alone?"

"Oh, Inuyasha," Kagome sighed. The look on his face made her want to hug him, but she quashed the urge. He was hardly in a receptive mood, and he'd be less so if he knew what she was thinking. He really was just a lost little boy afraid of rejection, wasn't he? Instead she smiled and touched her hand to his arm. "Let's go back, okay? I'll help you finish, and I won't tell anyone and disparage your reputation. It'll be our little secret." Inuyasha thought she was teasing him.

"Come on," Kagome urged.

"Fine," he relented ungraciously. Nerves thrummed uncomfortably in his throat, an odd tension in his muscles. He wasn't good at giving presents. When had he ever had the chance? He so wanted this to be something special for Kagome, but he had no idea how to do it. What if he disappointed her?

Kagome led the way back to the clearing. She picked up a discarded slat of wood, turning it over in her hands. It had been sanded smooth of splinters, a small detail that touched her. She hadn't thought Inuyasha would pay attention to something so minor. "I've never built anything before," she said. "Where does this one go?"

His anxiety made him short-tempered. "The hell do I know? I've never built a well before."

Rather than get angry, Kagome smiled. She beckoned Inuyasha over. "Then we'll figure it out together. Come on, stop scowling."

He _was_ scowling. Inuyasha forced himself to erase the frown. "Catch!" Kagome lobbed the hammer at him, and he snagged it out of the air in reflex. "Nice catch," Kagome commented. She held the board up to the half-finished well, turning it until it fit in with its neighbors. "Here maybe? Come on, don't bash my thumb."

"I'm not a klutz," Inuyasha retorted. "I'm not you."

"Hey!" Kagome laughed. It felt good to joke around with Inuyasha. She watched him out of the corner of her eye as they worked. She was glad things were easy between them again. She couldn't help but think that her hug had unbalanced something between them. She'd been so relieved to see him—alive and whole—that she hadn't thought, had just run straight into his arms when she'd reappeared on this side of the well. In that one moment, nothing had mattered. Not Shippou, not the Shikon shards, not the angry wolf demon fallen on the ground.

Just Inuyasha.

That he would think to repair the well meant more to her than words could have. He hadn't apologized for taking the Shikon shards or shoving her through the well with no way to come back. Kagome doubted he ever would. She had come to terms with the fact that he'd acted as he thought was right, and she could admit his intentions weren't purely off-base. But that he would want to surprise her with a fixed well made her heart warm in a way that was almost uncomfortable.

He was a half-demon boy from a world five hundred years in the past. Things were complicated enough. She didn't want this slippery feeling when she thought of him. She didn't need this heartache. It would end in heartache. How could it not? They were from different worlds; it would never work…

"What?" Inuyasha's gruff question startled her out of her thoughts. Kagome realized she'd been staring at him, and she blushed that he'd caught her daydreaming.

"Uh…Nothing." Kagome shook her head, averting her gaze. "I was just…thinking. Sorry."

Inuyasha blinked. "You don't have to apologize for thinking," he said in his usual abrupt manner. "It's not something you can stop."

"I could try to be you," Kagome retorted without thinking.

Inuyasha looked hurt. He looked away. "You wouldn't want to be me," he said, so quietly Kagome almost missed it. Louder, he added, "You wouldn't like not thinking."

She hadn't meant to make him feel vulnerable. Kagome perched on the edge of the newly completed well, tilting her head. "You sometimes think," she said, trying for levity. Inuyasha spared her a glance, and she patted the well in indication. "Like today. You were very thoughtful, Inuyasha, to do this for me."

Embarrassed by her gratitude, Inuyasha hunched his shoulders. "Whatever."

"Not 'whatever'," Kagome corrected. She ran her hand over the smooth, silky wood. "It means a lot to me. Thank you."

Startled, Inuyasha met her eyes. He couldn't remember the last time anyone had something so simple to him. So heartfelt. Half-demons weren't often appreciated. "Uh…" He stumbled over the words. "You're welcome."

Kagome rose to stand beside him, looking the well over. It wasn't by any standards a fine piece of work. It would work, and it wasn't unpleasant to look at, but…Kagome grinned. "I guess we shouldn't try to take up carpentry as a profession."

"Keh." Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Don't be stupid. I know better than that."

A sudden breeze kicked up, carrying with it a deeper chill. Inuyasha glanced at the darkening sky. "Better get back," he said gruffly. He gathered the tools and left them by the leftover slats of wood. He'd return them tomorrow. Kagome shivered, hugging herself and watching him clean up.

"Here." Kagome blinked in surprise as the weight of the fire rat coat draped across her shoulders. Inuyasha didn't meet her eyes. "Don't want you to get cold. Being sick gets in the way of looking for more Shikon shards," he added, knowing she would see right through him.

Kagome laughed gently, tugging the thick coat closer around her. "Sure, sure," she said. It was all just a tough-boy façade, she knew, but she let it slide. She glanced over her shoulder at the finished well as they left the clearing. Kagome bumped Inuyasha's shoulder with hers as they walked.

"What?"

"I had fun with you today," she said. "I like spending time with you."

Inuyasha just snorted and crossed his arms. He knew she'd see through that, too, but that didn't really bother him. He did hope she wouldn't see the pinking of his cheeks, though. Some things were better kept to himself.

"You can say it, you know."

"What?"

Kagome slanted him a glance. Her voice was falsely bright, brighter than the uncertainty in her eyes. "If you had fun today. With me."

"Oh." Inuyasha stared hard at the village lights ahead. "Yeah." He could feel her waiting. "I like spending time with you, too."

Her smile bloomed, shyly pleased by his confession, and Kagome added a quick skip to her step. "That's okay," she said, answering something he hadn't said. She waited for him to catch up to her. Her smile was teasing. "We won't tell anyone, okay? That can be our little secret."

This time, Inuyasha grinned in response. The way she looked, bundled up in his coat, her cheeks pink with pleasure and the cold, made him want to hug her. He ignored the impulse but allowed himself to relax as she chattered happily as they made their way back to the village.

Yeah, he liked spending time with her. But nobody had to know.

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11.29.09


End file.
